Job satisfaction and risk of burnout in special needs nursery school teachers

Abstract

Teaching in nursery schools is a demanding profession based on interaction with people. As a result, teachers are exposed to an increased risk of burnout. The main goal of the research was to find out to what extent the pedagogical staff of the mentioned nursery schools are endangered by the burnout syndrome and how satisfied they are in their profession. The research group consisted of 90 participants which included teachers from all nursery schools for children with special educational needs in the Czech Republic. To determine the empirical data, the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Educators Survey, Teacher Satisfaction Inventory and One-Dimensional Assessment Scale measuring teachers’ climate perception were used. The results suggest that special needs nursery school teachers are at a high risk of burnout in the dimension of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization in contrast to the high level of personal satisfaction, job satisfaction and satisfaction with the working climate.   Keywords: burnout syndrome; job satisfaction; social climate